Friends
by Hyper Waddle Dee
Summary: Yes, she had come up with the perfect plan. It was dangerous. It would have dire consequences. It was the sort of thing that got her locked up in the first place. But she would finally get the friend she so desired. (Critiques are much appreciated!)
1. Prolouge

Prologue

All was quiet in the library, as libraries should be. The only noises were the shuffle of books being shelved, and the occasional page turn of the book currently being read by the librarian. It was located inside a mansion, a magnificent building many stories high, with rows upon rows of books stacked to the ceiling. Certainly, a place like this would make a lovely study. The tranquility made it an ideal place to spend time alone. But the silence was about to be broken by an unwelcome guest.

A young girl quietly slipped in through the door. She made sure the coast was clear before heading into the many rows of books ahead of her. Before long, she made it to the depths of the library. It had taken her a while to figure out how to get back there unnoticed, but it had been well worth the effort. This section held the rarest and most valuable books. The girl browsed through them a bit. It didn't take long for her to find something interesting. It was an old, beat-up book, without a doubt older than the girl herself. She discreetly slipped it into a sack. Then she prepared to make her getaway.

The girl ducked through the poorly lit alleys, on the lookout for any library personnel. Lucky for her, the library wasn't very populated. Well, by the living, anyway. She made sure to stay away from areas where the librarian usually occupied. As she turned a corner, she was spotted by one of the assistant librarians. Suddenly, several of the books left their shelves and rose up into the air. The girl started running. A book to the left shot a plume of fire at the girl. She was ready for it and threw a green canister at it. The canister exploded, and nullified the original flame. Books from behind started to shoot shards of ice at the girl. Anticipating this, she hit the floor, and the shards flew through where she had been standing moments before. A book flew out in front of the girl and fired a huge laser. The girl grabbed a wooden token out of her pocket and aimed it at the book. It responded by firing a laser of its own. By now, the entire library was aware of the intruder. The librarian was approaching her quickly, launching more waves of books that sent the girl dodging shots left and right. But she was far from worried. In fact, she was enjoying herself.

Welcome to Gensokyo, a hidden land of fairly tales and legends of old. A land where humanity and monsters coexist side by side. A land where common sense may just as well not exist. And a land where anything and everything suddenly becomes possible.

The girl had almost made it to the end of the library. She caught the door in her sight. As the girl scrambled for the door, the books' heavy fire intensified. Then, suddenly, the books stopped shooting at her and fell to the floor. The girl figured they must have run out of power. She opened the door and walked out as if nothing had happened. The librarian was furious. The girl thought it was hilarious. Laughing, she hopped on her broomstick and started leisurely flying through the air. She passed through dimly lit hallways with old paintings. There were few windows in this mansion. This was courtesy of the unusual owner, who hated light with a passion. The girl thought they should at least light some more candles. This much darkness was simply unhealthy.

Something caught the girl's attention. A small, faraway shadow cast itself on the candlelit walls. It appeared she was being followed. But this was no ordinary shadow. It was humanoid, with two jagged, unnatural obtrusions glowing in the different colors of the rainbow. And running into it was a visitor's worst nightmare. The girl picked up her pace. So did the shadow. Despite the girl's best efforts, it was rapidly catching up to her. Just as capture seemed imminent, the girl spotted an escape route. One of the few windows in the mansion had been opened slightly to let in the breeze. In a risky move, she dove her broom through the window. Most people in Gensokyo would have smashed into the window or lost control of the broom trying this technique. But this girl was an expert broom rider. She executed the move perfectly. The shadow stopped chasing her. Now outside, the girl let out a sigh of relief and headed elsewhere. As the girl went on her way, the shadow cried out at her, beckoning her to stay and play. But the girl pretended not to hear, and flew out of sight.

The shadow stood at the window crying. It wanted to have friends and play with them, just as everyone else did. But nobody would play with the shadow. Nobody would even give the shadow a chance. Everyone always ran away. It just wasn't fair. Heartbroken and lonely, the shadow slumped to the floor. The other inhabitants of the mansion would be looking for her soon. And when she was found, she would be thrown back into the dungeon, a place she was told she belonged. But she hated the dungeon. It was lonely, and nobody ever came down to see her. Even the maid assigned to bring her meals had learned how to slide food to her unseen.

Consumed in her misery, the shadow almost didn't notice the piece of paper that had fallen on the ground. It seemed to have fallen out of the other girl's pocket during her flight. The shadow picked it up. It appeared to be a poem. It was handwritten, and part of it had been torn off. She became aware of movement echoing in the far off part of the hall. It wouldn't be long until they found her. The shadow started to read the poetry fragment.

"... will always remember you…"

"…the times we shared…"

"…stay in your heart forever…"

Mystified, the shadow stared at the words written on the paper for a while. Then, all of a sudden, she had an epiphany. She began to formulate a plan…

Yes, she had come up with the perfect plan. It was dangerous. It would have dire consequences. It was the sort of thing that got her locked up in the first place. But she would finally get the friend she so desired. The movement down the hall was getting closer. She stopped sobbing. Her tears were replaced with a lunatic smile. And she tucked the paper in her shirt just in time to be captured once again.

Thus goes daily life in Gensokyo, a land of fantasy and make-believe. A land of hopes and dreams and wishes. And a land where innocent desires all too often spark a major catastrophe.


	2. Chapter 1: 11:15 AM

Chapter One

11:15 A.M.

Marisa Kirisame flew through the skies on her broom. Some of her long, blonde hair was tucked inside of her broad hat, and the rest waved around with her movement. In her pocket was her trusty mini-hakkero, and half a dozen homemade counter-bombs. It was nice and somewhat cloudy, and there was hardly any wind at all. Perfect weather for flying.

"Hmm…" she said to herself. "Where should I go today?"

She had many options. She could go to the village and see her friends there. She could go to the forest and gather ingredients for her homemade explosives. Or, she could go cause some havoc in the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

"Yeah, I haven't bugged them in a while. I'll do that today!"

And she flew off in the direction of the Misty Lake, behind which lied the mansion in question. Most of the inhabitants of the Scarlet Devil Mansion were youkai; a Gensokyan term for supernatural creatures—creatures that would normally strike fear into the hearts of humans. But Marisa loved to bother the youkai. She was always eager to improve her skills, and competing against youkai was an excellent way to do just that.

Her urge to become better was partly driven by a rivalry with the local shrine maiden, Reimu Hakurei. Whenever a major incident came up, they always competed to get to the bottom of it first. They often worked together, but the two couldn't be more different on the inside. Marisa was all about the glory and bragging rights, whereas Reimu was more interested in protecting the interests of humanity. Reimu had tremendous amounts of magical power, something Marisa was always jealous of. While Marisa had to work her butt off practicing broom flying and making her own explosives to substitute for not having any natural magical abilities, Reimu had all the power right there. But the worst part, in Marisa's opinion, was that she almost never used it! Reimu found her job a hassle, and tried to resolve conflicts in as passive a manner as possible, which Marisa found exasperating.

Flying over the water, Marisa spotted the mansion up ahead. In front of its stony gate, the gatekeeper was standing guard. Her proper name was Hong Meiling, but everyone called her China to annoy her. That was unimportant, though. The important part was that she was in charge of making sure nobody entered the mansion without good cause. And she was pretty good at it, too. She would be the perfect gatekeeper except for one little flaw: gatekeeping was boring, so she had a tendency to fall asleep on the job. That was a flaw that Marisa could easily take advantage of.

Meiling appeared to be asleep at the gate again. If Marisa was walking on the ground, she would run the risk of waking her up. But since Marisa was up in the air, she merely flew over the mansion gate and landed softly in the courtyard. She got off her broom and carried it in with her into the mansion. Although flying was faster and quieter than walking, Marisa found it difficult to fly in the dark hallways. She didn't want to mismaneuver and fly into something. Ramming into stuff while riding on a broom hurt! So, on her feet, she tiptoed her way into the mansion.

On her way to the library, Marisa saw a few maids running about. They were too busy with their duties to notice her. Marisa tiptoed on through the corridors. The library was quite a ways inside the mansion. She descended a flight of stairs, leading underground, and crept through another hallway. Finally, she arrived at her destination. Although she had passed many doors on her way, this set of doors was different. They were much bigger than most of the doors there, as the library was a huge room. With some effort, Marisa pulled one of the doors open and silently slipped inside.

Inside the library, there were seemingly endless rows of ceiling-high bookshelves, made of an old, polished wood. There was low lighting, as the room was mostly lit by candlelight, with a fancy chandelier here and there. The flooring was carpeted but aged, as if it had been carpeted a hundred years ago. Strange, humanoid creatures were moving about, carrying stacks of many books at once.

Marisa began her undercover operation, weaving through the rows of books. Sneaking around like this was one of her favorite ways to get her kicks. She systematically made her way to the very back, staying very low to stay unnoticed by the handful of library staff around. They would have a hard time spotting her in the dark anyway, since she was wearing mostly black. The whole library was probably still reshelving books from her previous escapade. Marisa smirked with pleasure at the thought.

As she got deeper into the library, Marisa's surroundings began to shift subtly. As she went on, the books gradually got older. Passing through the many layers of history, it felt more like a time capsule than a library, with each era represented by its own distinct area. The books gradually became more worn and aged, with covers tearing off and pages fading. Then, the endless rows of books suddenly stopped, signaling that this was the very deepest part of the library. The books here almost certainly dated back to medieval ages, when books were rare and had to be written by hand. They were in a state of disrepair. What existed of the covers was worn ragged, and the handwritten text was in danger of fading from existence. At last, she had made it to her destination.

Marisa perused the shelves carefully, looking for the perfect book. Finally, she picked one up. It was a large book with a thick, faded cover. The binding appeared to have been repaired many times, signifying that it was a book of considerable importance. Marisa slipped the book inside her white apron, which on the underside was actually just another huge pocket. She grinned naughtily. Acquiring her book of choice was only the first step of the antics she had planned for today.

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><p><strong>(Author's Notes: This and the next chapter were originally one chapter, but I split them up into two because I don't think I can keep making chapters that big for the rest of the story. Wow, I haven't written anything this big since my science fair paper!)<strong>


	3. Chapter 2: 11:31 AM

Chapter Two

11:31 A.M.

"Last time was such a piece of cake. I wonder if Patch's even up for it today…" mused Marisa. "Guess I'd better give her a courtesy wakeup call!"

And with that, she hopped on her broom. As undesirable as flying in the dark was, this would be well worth the trouble. At mid-speed, Marisa flew towards the middle of the library. The shelves opened up to a clear space. In the center was a small table. At the table sat a witch wearing fuchsia robes that could be mistaken for pajamas. She had long purple hair, and was reading a thick book. It was the librarian, Patchouli Knowledge.

Flying overhead, Marisa threw one of her bombs up in the air.

"Special delivery!" she shouted.

"Of all the days…" groaned Patchouli as the bomb detonated. Without looking up from her book, she made a sign in the air. A soft blue light encased the explosion. The smoke and embers disappeared.

"What's the matter, Patch? Too sleepy to even look at me?" said Marisa sarcastically. She circled around Patchouli taunting her.

"Go away!" shouted Patchouli. She looked up from her book and stood. "Can't you see I'm very—"Her speech was interrupted by a coughing spasm, and she collapsed.

"Oh, I see," said Marisa with faux concern. "You're too sick today. Guess I win by default. Too bad!" Patchouli was having a coughing seizure on the floor. She was normally in poor health, as she was a very sickly girl. She had a terrible immune system, and even on a good day she didn't have much physical strength due to being super-anemic. Even though she was an extraordinarily powerful magician, her poor condition often prevented her from using her magic to the fullest. But today she was especially ill, complete with a high fever and respiratory issues. At the moment, it took a lot of effort for her to get up and talk, much less defend a whole library.

"Ugh… I can't even yell at you." muttered Patchouli, once she caught her breath. "Why don't you just put down the book and come back on a day when I'm feeling better?"

"Hey, that's a good idea…" said Marisa, "…not! I really like this one. I think I'm keeping it."

"What!?"

"Don't worry; you can have it back after I die, okay?"

Patchouli lied on the ground, fuming. It irritated her that this girl, this _human_, could just waltz into her personal library and 'borrow' whatever she wanted, with absolutely no manners and no intentions of bringing anything back. And no matter how many traps were set up ahead of time, no matter how strong those traps were, she always got away. But more than that, she always had to rub it in her face.

"Well, get better soon, Patch!" said Marisa. "Maybe next time you'll be well enough to actually see me leave!" Marisa began to float off in the direction of the exit.

"Wait!" whimpered Patchouli in vain. Marisa turned around in the air.

"Sorry Patch, but I've got things to do, places to go, people to meet. I don't have time for—" Marisa's sentence was cut off as a blast of energy shot off from behind her, missing her by about a foot.

"A sneak attack from behind, huh? _Very funny._"

Astonished, Patchouli stared at the space behind Marisa.

"That wasn't me." she said.

"So you're gonna play innocent, eh?" asked Marisa. "Come on, if you wanna take a shot at me, just say so."

"No…" said Patchouli slowly. "I didn't make that. That flare definitely wasn't mine…" She trailed off before going into another coughing fit.

"Ok, so let's say it wasn't you. Honestly Patch, who else would it be?" asked Marisa brusquely. On the inside, though, something was worrying her. "_Something isn't adding up._" she thought. "_Patch is the only one around here with that kind of firepower, right? And she's obviously way too sick right now to fight me. So then who could've done it…?_" As Marisa was thinking, she didn't notice the rim of purple steadily approaching her. Patchouli did, barely, through her sickness haze. But she didn't mention it, of course.

"Well?" pushed Marisa. "Give me an answer!" She was becoming uneasy. Something was out of place.

"I already gave you an answer." grumbled a labored Patchouli. That's when Marisa noticed the fire closing in on her, if you could even call it that. It shone vivid purple, and was clearly no ordinary fire. It was approaching fast. Marisa quickly dipped her altitude just in time to avoid the flaming wall. The flames dissipated immediately after missing her, sparing the library shelves.

"What the heck!?" Marisa hollered at Patchouli. "What is this!?"

"Fire." said Patchouli equivocally.

"Really? No kidding!" barked Marisa, dodging another wall of fire, this time from the left. "_What in the world!?_" she thought to herself. "_Where are all these coming from? Who's making them?_" Marisa dodged another wall, this one colored blue. "_And whoever it is, why are they going after me!?_" Panicking, Marisa began looking for a way out. But all she could see were walls of purple and blue everywhere. Left and right, back and forth, they came at her. And all she could do was try her best to evade them.

On the ground, Patchouli observed the phenomenon.

"_Hmm…_" she thought. "_These flames… they're not acting like they're trying to injure her. It's almost as if…_"

Marisa's palms were getting sweaty. The fire barrages were getting faster and more numerous. She was starting to lose her handle on her broom. And in her urgency to avoid the advancing inferno, she forgot to look up. A gust of hot air was unleashed from above, and she was knocked off her broom, sent hurtling toward the ground.

"Serves you right, you book thief." snapped Patchouli, who went back to her book with a scowl. Marisa closed her eyes, and the world went into darkness.


	4. Chapter 3: 11:34 AM

Chapter Three

11:34 A.M.

Flandre Scarlet hustled through the dark corridors of her family's mansion. Her prism wings lit up the dim passageways ahead of her. In her arms was the limp figure of the magician girl. The girl was knocked out, yet was unharmed. Although she had just taken a nasty fall moments ago, Flandre had been there to catch her. But the unconsciousness was only a side effect of the shock of falling. It wouldn't last, and Flandre knew it—which is why she had to hurry.

She climbed up a flight of stairs. To any normal person, carrying a person larger than themselves up a flight of stairs would be an enormous feat—but Flandre was hardly normal. Now above ground, as she hurried through the halls, Flandre took great care to avoid the ever-present maids.

"_If just one sees me,_" she thought to herself, "_I'm done for!_" It was true. The Scarlet Devil Mansion maids had orders to call for her sister if she was seen running about. She couldn't afford that. She ascended another flight of stairs and took a right. Halfway down the hallway, she heard a maid coming. She ducked into a room and crammed behind the door, waiting for the maid to pass. The maid dashed through the hall, and after the maid had gone, she hastily continued on her way.

Flandre was headed for the clock tower, the highest point in the mansion. It was usually deserted, and offered a whole maze of gears to hide her. Although the dungeon was easier to reach and was also abandoned, it was hard for her to return to the place where she had been confined for so long. Why would she want to escape from it a second time? And returning there, she had decided earlier, would only hinder the second step of her plan.

Flandre was getting close to the final stairwell. It was located precariously in the center of the floor, a crossroads where the hall widened to accommodate another set of stairs joining it with the floor below. It was a well-traveled area, which put her at risk of being seen. But time was running out, and she couldn't wait.

"_This is my only chance!_"

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then she opened them and raced for the stairs. After she reached them, she looked behind her. No maids were in sight. She hadn't been caught. With a heavy sigh of relief, Flandre continued up to the clock tower.

The stairs leading up to the clock tower were in poor shape. Flandre was sure that if she couldn't fly, she would have fallen through some of the worse-looking steps. At the top of the spiraling staircase, she landed. The tower was filled with peculiar instruments that were connected to a giant clock facing the outside. Nothing could be heard except a constant ticking. It was very dark inside the tower, but Flandre's wings provided the light needed to see. Flandre found a nice gap among the machinery and sat down, laying Marisa in her lap.

"I can't believe I've made it this far!" said Flandre out loud, shaking with excitement. "Well, are you ready, new friend? This won't hurt a bit…"

Little did she know she _had_ been seen by one of the maids, and that maid was running to report her presence to the mistress as she spoke those very words...

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><p><strong>(Author's Notes: I probably should've been preparing for exams instead of typing more fanfic... oh well. That's why the chapter is so short this time.)<strong>


	5. Chapter 4: 11:39 AM

Chapter Four

11:39 A.M.

Marisa was beginning to regain consciousness. She felt the ground rumbling and heard the murmur of vaguely familiar voices. She realized she was in pain, and her head was throbbing.

"_What happened…?_"

As she started waking up, she remembered how she had fallen off her broom during her heist in the library.

"_They caught me, didn't they? They must have. Ugh… I was so stupid out there… I should'a used a bomb to escape…_"

But as she slowly opened her eyes, she saw that she was definitely not in the library. She was in a dark tower; too dark to see what was going on immediately. As her eyes began to adjust, she saw a figure slumped against the wall opposite to her. It was a little girl. Her blonde hair was tied in a childish side-ponytail, and she was dressed in a frilly red and white outfit. She would have looked like any other child, except for two prominent features: she had bright red eyes, barely open at the moment, and protruding from her back were a pair of 'wings'; two black lines with eight diamonds hanging off each, glowing in the color spectrum. Marisa had had some close encounters with her before, but this was her first good look up close. This was the sister of the Scarlet Devil, Flandre Scarlet.

"_What in the…? Why is she…? I've gotta leave before she notices me!_"

Marisa tried to get up from the ground quietly, but pain shot through her and she lurched to the floor. The clamor immediately caught Flandre's attention, and she sat up. Her eyes widened and her wings lit up.

"Marisa!" she shouted enthusiastically. But as soon as she did, a hand appeared on her shoulder. "_Gyaaaaaaa!_" screamed Flandre, and she hit the floor as though she had been zapped. The light from her wings pulsed, and then disappeared entirely. A shrill voice pierced the room.

"Well, well, well. This is an unexpected turn of events."

A young lady in an equally frilly pink dress came up from beside Flandre. It was Remilia Scarlet, the current head of the mansion—better known to most of Gensokyo as the Scarlet Devil. Marisa knew her appearance could only mean trouble.

"What do you want?" said Marisa, a little short of breath. "_Dang…_" she thought, "_That fall took a lot out of me…_"

"It seems your meddlesome habits have finally caught up to you." said Remilia.

"Whaddya mean by that?"

"_Tsk, tsk, tsk…_" Remilia scolded, shaking her head. She snapped her fingers and a maid instantly appeared. "Fetch me a mirror and some light."

"As you wish." said the maid. She left the room and came back moments later holding a small mirror and a candlestick. The maid handed the mirror to Remilia.

"Now then," said Remilia to Marisa "look inside this mirror." She held out the mirror for Marisa to take. Marisa sat up and groaned involuntarily.

"_My back is killing me!_" thought Marisa as she took the mirror from Remilia. Marisa looked inside the mirror. She was having a hard time seeing herself, but she noticed her face was rather pale and her eyes had an odd shine about them. "_Well,_ obviously_ I look pale right now!_" she thought to herself, "_I just fell off my broom! And the lighting is funny in here, besides._" Marisa looked up at Remilia. "And I'm doing this because…?"

"Honestly, do I have to spell it out for you?" mumbled Remilia to herself. She gestured towards her neck. Marisa angled the mirror towards her own neck.

The first thing she saw was blood. Her entire neck and upper body were completely soaked in her own blood.

"How…!?" started Marisa, gaping her mouth in shock. She caught a glimpse of her mouth in the mirror, and saw that her two canine teeth had gotten pointier. Much pointier. Startled, she promptly closed her mouth. Looking back down at her neck, she noticed for the first time that she had puncture wounds. Two, to be precise. "No…" said Marisa, her pupils dilating in shock. "This isn't happening… this isn't happening…" She suddenly got a sick feeling, and felt ready to throw up. "This just can't be happening…"

"Congratulations, Miss Kirisame." said Remilia "It seems that Flandre here has turned you into a vampire."

"I don't feel so good…" said Marisa. She lost consciousness again and collapsed. Remilia walked over to her.

"Pity, I figured you would have a stronger stomach than that. Well, that's too bad. Sakuya, attend to this mess while I figure out what to do." said Remilia. "It looks like a murder scene in here." she added, laughing dryly.

"As you wish." said the maid.

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><p><strong>(Author's Notes: Exams are finally over! <strong>***collapses***** Sorry it took this long to post another chapter.)**


	6. Chapter 5: 1:18 PM

Chapter Five

1:18 P.M.

When Marisa awoke, she was lying in bed. However, it was not her own bed. It was an enormous, luxurious bed with pink sheets, pink pillows, and a pink canopy to top it all off. There were many lit candles in the room, and it was bright compared to the lower levels of the mansion.

"_What…? Where am I? Is this Remilia's bed?_" she wondered. Her whole body was aching. "_Why do I hurt so much?_" Then she remembered what had transpired in the tower. The image of her reflection in the mirror burned in her eyes. "_Maybe I'm going crazy. Yes, that's it. I'm going crazy. I'm hallucinating. If I just close my eyes and fall asleep, I'll wake up and find out nothing has happened, and this whole thing is just my imagination… Hahaha, yeah, my imagination… Oh, please let it be…_" Marisa closed her eyes again and rolled onto her back. Upon turning over, pain shot through her back.

"Yah!" she exclaimed, jolting up. Instinctively, she reached her hand behind her to comfort herself. But instead of her back, her hand swept across a foreign object. As Marisa touched it, she felt a bizarre sensation –she could feel the object being touched by her hand, as though the object was a part of her. Shocked, her hand recoiled for a moment, but curiosity got the better of her and she examined the object more thoroughly. Now with two hands, she gingerly felt across her back, discovering not one, but two of these mysterious entities. She craned her neck to look behind her, and saw the reason why her back was hurting so much: She was growing wings. Marisa's stomach flipped.

"_This is no hallucination._"

The little wings were no more than a foot across, flimsy and recently grown. They were bat-style, and were the same color as Marisa's skin, although the webbing was slightly paler. Marisa inhaled sharply. The wings moved slightly with her breath.

"_This is really happening. Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God…_"

As panicked thoughts swam through Marisa's head, a woman in a blue maid uniform arrived at the door of the room. She had dark blue eyes and skin that was paler than normal. Although she was in her youth, or at least appeared to be, her hair was a silvery-grey. It was neatly tied into two front braids with green ribbons. Her name was Sakuya Izayoi, and she was the head maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

"Excuse me, Miss Kirisame. May I come in?"

"Uh, sure." said Marisa gawkily, yanked out of her thoughts and hyperventilation.

"I've washed and made a few alterations to your clothes." Sakuya set down a pile of clothes she had been carrying on a dresser next to the bed. The pile looked like Marisa's outfit. Puzzled, Marisa looked down at herself and realized she was not wearing her own clothes, but instead a fuzzy and pink backless nightgown that was too small for her.

"While you were passed out, the mistress lent you her pajamas." explained Sakuya. Marisa looked alarmingly back to the pile of the clothes on the dresser from the pajamas she was currently wearing, feeling a bit violated at having been undressed and redressed while she was unconscious. "When you are ready, please go down the hall and to the left." continued Sakuya. "My mistress is waiting for you there."

"Sakuyaaaaaaaaa!" whined Remilia from outside the room. "Where's my tea?"

"Please, excuse me. I must go." said Sakuya, and she quickly left the room. Marisa stared blankly ahead of her, flabbergasted at the events of the last minute or so. After a few seconds, she snapped out of it and shook her head.

"What am I doing? I need to get dressed!" she said, annoyed at herself for not getting her wits together. Marisa briskly stood up, but nearly fell over again as her legs buckled beneath her. Gasping, she caught herself with the dresser. "Okay, maybe I should take this a little more slowly…" she mumbled. Although she felt a strong compulsion to get up and get dressed, she needed to take it one step at a time. Her whole body was hurting, especially her back. She picked up her blouse and began unbuttoning it so she could put it on. The blouse, as well as the dress, had been altered by Sakuya to have a deep split in the back for accommodating Marisa's new wings.

"_Wings…_" thought Marisa. _Her _wings. The phrase was so foreign, so strange, so alien. Humans didn't have wings. But then again, she could no longer say that she was a… "Stop." she told herself assertively. "I don't need to be thinking about things like that right now. I need to be getting dressed." But before putting on the dress, Marisa remembered something.

"_The library book! Is it still there?_" It was petty of her, and Marisa knew it, but she was hoping she still had custody of Patchouli's book. Surely the simple sight of it would calm her nerves. Marisa fished through the pocket in her apron. The book was nowhere to be found. "Aww…" she moaned. Upon checking her other pockets, she found all five of her bombs and her mini-hakkero still there. Her broom was propped up against the dresser.

"Phew!" sighed Marisa, relieved. She held the mini-hakkero up to her heart and took a deep breath. It was a small wooden octagon, about the size of Marisa's palm, with painted symbols on the edges. In its center was a metal core, capable of generating heat by drawing in energy from the air. The mini-hakkero was a gift from someone very special to her. He had made it for her, and she treasured it with all of her being. "I don't know what I'd do if this was taken away." She didn't want to ponder the thought. She put the mini-hakkero back into her pocket and finished dressing. Picking up her broom, she unsteadily walked out of the room and into the hall, taking a left.

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><p><strong>(Author<strong>**'s notes: Story wise, I'll be concentrating on Marisa for a while, but don't worry, Flan will get her time to shine. She _will_ be a huge part of this story.)**


	7. Chapter 6: 1:21 PM

Chapter Six

1:21 P.M.

Remilia was sitting at a table in an alcove in the middle of the hallway, drinking from a teacup. She saw Marisa stumbling toward her, and set down her drink.

"Ah, there you are. Please have a seat." Remilia said, beckoning to a chair next to her. Marisa vacantly complied. Her vision was blurry and disoriented, and she was having a hard time paying attention as Remilia made some small talk about a window next to them.

"Isn't it nice? I got it from that odd shopkeeper, you know, the antiques man? Sometimes he finds things from the outside world and puts them up for sale, like this window here. It lets light through it, but the bad part is filtered out. I'd love to purchase some more, but he only had a few for sale. Bringing in things from the outside world can be such a hassle, you know? I would send someone to go buy some, but…hey, are you even listening?" As if on cue, Marisa's back started spazzing out, and she groaned painfully. Remilia sighed.

"I didn't want to give you this, but..." Remilia held up a necklace with a green gemstone in the middle. "This was made by Patchouli a while ago, for first-aid purposes. It is imbued with a magic that takes away pain, or so I am told. I can't think of another way to keep you conscious for our conversation, so here you go." She leaned over to Marisa and clasped it around her neck. Numbness washed over Marisa's body as it took effect, and her vision slowly returned. "I don't really understand how it works, but let me warn you; it won't last forever, so listen to what I have to say."

Marisa stared at the slightly short, pink-clad vampire sitting near her. She was wearing a pastel pink button-up shirt, and a skirt and nightcap of the same shade, all adorned with burgundy ribbons. Despite her girlish clothing, Remilia had features that made her look just as shocking as her little sister, or even more so. She had pointy, red-painted fingernails, unnatural light blue hair, and striking crimson eyes similar to Flandre's. But something was missing.

"_Hey, where did Remilia's wings go? She had wings when Reimu and I fought her last time…_" thought Marisa.

"First and foremost," began Remilia "I sincerely apologize for Flandre's actions. It seems that she has taken… quite an interest in you. It's been a long time since I've seen her like that. When Sakuya and I got to you two, we had to pry her off you. It was lucky for us she was so exhausted. Otherwise, who knows what could have happened. She wouldn't have gone down without a fight, that's certain…"

Remilia gazed across the table, and Marisa noticed for the first time that Flandre was also sitting with them. She was propped up in a chair, face pressed against the table, and still wearing her bloodstained outfit from before. Her eyes were closed, and her breathing was shallow. Marisa gulped nervously.

To be perfectly honest, she didn't know much about Flandre, but what she did know terrified her. She knew that Flandre was incredibly powerful, and had heard that she could destroy anything. She had also heard that Flandre was out of control crazy, and that, if she got the opportunity, would blow someone to smithereens. Reimu once had to fight with Flandre because she was trying to leave the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Reimu ranted about it soon afterward; based on her friend's long diatribe, Marisa decided Flandre was one of the last people she wanted to be around. The local newspaper had also run an article on Flandre once. Although the articles more often than not contained as much rumor as reality, it matched well enough with Reimu's descriptions to make Marisa uneasy.

"_Oh no, she's here! What if she wakes up!? I heard that she blows up fairy maids that wander into the dungeon for fun! For _fun_! What's she gonna do to me!?_"

"Do not worry; she is unconscious. I brought her here so I could personally keep an eye on her. She shouldn't be up for a while, so don't let her presence scare you too much." said Remilia, taking another sip of her drink. Marisa let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. "Anyway," she continued, "I've thought of a way to make you human again." Marisa's attention was immediately diverted away from Flandre and back to Remilia.

"Past the forest, past the human village, there lies a place called the Bamboo Forest of the Lost. Inside the forest is a palace named Eientei. Tell me, have you heard of it?" Marisa nodded cautiously. She could see where this conversation was going. "Good. Then I trust you've heard the name Eirin Yagokoro?"

Marisa nodded again. In Eientei, there lived a princess from the moon named Kaguya. Kaguya had many servants, one of which was Eirin. Eirin was formerly a medic on the moon. Lately, she had started taking clients from the surrounding area. She was a genius with medicine, and rumor had it she could cure any disease or perform any surgery if the price was right. Without a doubt, she had the knowledge and skill to help with their dilemma. But Marisa had a little problem with her.

"Um… during the Imperishable Night incident, we had a little fight, and I kinda sorta beat her up…" said Marisa sheepishly. Normally, she would be boastful of having gotten in and won such a fight, but right now it could be the difference between Eirin helping her or leaving her… well, for dead.

"Really?" inquired Remilia "That's curious. I don't recall you being there at all."

"Wait, you were there at Eientei, too?"

"Yes. I got bored that night, so Sakuya and I set out to figure out why the moon wasn't in the sky. We defeated a firefly, a night sparrow, and a half-beast before that annoying shrine maiden stopped us in the bamboo forest. We fought for a while, but then she ran off."

"Seriously? Because I was out all night blowing up bad guys with my friend Alice, until Reimu and Yukari stopped _us _in the bamboo forest."

"I don't recall ever seeing Yukari. Quite interesting, but we are going off on a tangent. Back on topic, what I need for you to do is go to Eientei and ask Eirin to change you back, and hurry."

"Hold on a minute." said Marisa. "I have some questions. What if Eirin won't help me? And even if she will, I can't pay for it! And why are you even helping me? And where did your wings go?"

"One question at a time, please." said Remilia. "To answer the wings question, I simply hid them because I figured it would make you feel more at ease. But as long as it won't scare you too much…" Two wings burst out from Remilia's back, causing Marisa to jump in her seat. "Ah, that feels so much better! I hate having to hide them. It's awfully uncomfortable. To answer the Eirin question… I have a feeling she will be happy to help. She seems the type who is always eager to have a test subject or two. If you need to pay some amount, I will compensate you. Which leads to the last question.

"If not for the politics involved, I honestly wouldn't care about all of this. But I've already caused one incident. If Reimu discovers that one of her friends has been turned into a vampire, I'm catching the blame for it, and her wrath. I highly doubt she would let you go free, either. It is imperative that you hurry so that doesn't happen. At the very best, we would all have to leave Gensokyo. At the worst…"

"So why don't you just turn her into one, then?" asked Marisa.

"That's not a very good idea. First of all," Remilia lowered her voice a little, embarrassed, "I wouldn't be able to. I've never been able to turn any of my victims. It's humiliating, so don't tell anyone. Secondly," continued Remilia in her normal voice, "supposing Flandre could do it—provided it's even possible with the amount of divine power around Reimu, and provided she and Reimu wouldn't blow each other to pieces first—there are still plenty of other strong humans and youkai out there that wouldn't stand for it." Remilia concluded. She finished the rest of her drink and set the empty teacup down.

"It seems I have run out of tea. Sakuya!" The maid came running. "Get me some more tea!" The maid left and came back with a teapot in literally no time at all. She poured a red liquid into Remilia's teacup. "Would you like some?" asked Remilia offhandedly.

"_That's no tea..._" thought Marisa, staring at the contents of the cup. The sight of blood had secretly always been uncomfortable for her. If she were with Reimu, she would have concentrated on other things, but without any peers around she found herself holding back the urge to gag. "No thank you." she said, trying to keep a straight face. Despite her best efforts, her expression betrayed her.

"My, quite the squeamish one." remarked Remilia. "You'll need to get over that if you wish to survive. I didn't expect you to be so hesitant. Weren't you searching for immortality not too long ago?"

"…How do you know about that?" asked Marisa apprehensively.

"Ever since we've met, I've kept my eye on you. I figured it would happen sooner or later, just not this soon…"

"Wait, so you knew this was gonna happen!?" shouted Marisa, astonished. "And you didn't do anything about it!? What about all that stuff you just said about how Reimu's gonna punish you for letting this happen!?"

"What could I do? It was simply fate. Besides, isn't this what you wanted? Every action has its consequence."

"…" Marisa was silent for a moment. She looked down, suppressing anger.

"Oh, I seem to have struck a nerve." commented Remilia. Marisa stood up and looked at her square in the eyes.

"It's complicated, _OKAY_?" she hollered in Remilia's face before taking off down the hallway. "And it's none of your business!" Remilia watched as Marisa disappeared from sight, and then she chuckled a little.

"Ah, I would find this so amusing if not for the threat of that shrine maiden. Sakuya, I need you to accompany her. Make sure she has no troubles on the way to Eientei."

"Yes, mistress." Sakuya nodded and disappeared. After she left, Remilia fixed her eyes watchfully on Flandre.

"Now, what are we going to do with you?" she asked to the open air, shaking her head.

* * *

><p><strong>(Author's notes: My biggest chapter yet! I'm working on the next one, and it seems to be on the longer side of my writing as well. It may take a while to finish, but it'll be worth it! :) )<strong>


	8. Chapter 7: 1:26 PM

Chapter Seven

1:26 P.M.

Marisa stormed through the halls of the Scarlet Devil Mansion in a fit of pique. Approaching the front door, she was about to leave when a voice spoke from behind her.

"We should probably get you a parasol before we leave." Sakuya said, quietly coming up beside Marisa. Too angry to show surprise, Marisa only scoffed at the maid.

"What do you mean, 'we'?"

"The mistress has appointed me to accompany you to Eientei."

"Get lost!" barked Marisa, blowing the maid off as she reached to open the door.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." warned Sakuya. Marisa ignored her as she flung open the door. Light spilled from the gap, immersing Marisa in sunlight. Walking forward, she felt a slight burning sensation.

"_Ow!_" she thought. "_What the heck?_" Marisa winced and squinted her eyes. Although there was no one in sight, the burning continued to get stronger. "_Is this another attack? Aaargh!_" The pain quickly became too much for Marisa to handle. Whimpering, she held her hands in front of her face and backed up into the mansion, out of the light's range. As the pain faded, she put two and two together. "_Oh… sunlight. Owwwwww… that really hurt, even with this painkilling pendant!_"

"It's midday." stated Sakuya, closing the door.

"Adding insult to injury, huh?" Marisa examined her hands. They were not burned, which surprised her. "Or not…" she mumbled. "So about that parasol?"

"Certainly," said a smiling Sakuya, clearly pleased that her advice was being taken. She left for a moment and came back carrying a pastel pink parasol.

"Pink. Figures." said Marisa, rolling her eyes. Sakuya opened the parasol up, and together they walked outside. Marisa was ready to mount her broom when a thought came to her. "Hey, are you gonna follow me around everywhere with that?"

"Wouldn't it be easier for you to fly without having to hold it?"

"Yeah, but isn't it suspicious? I mean, _you_ holding a parasol for _me?_"

"So you would rather burn in the sun then?"

"Whatever." sighed Marisa. She mounted her broom and rose up into the air. Sakuya also rose up into the air by her own means. "_Why can everyone fly but me? Reimu, Alice, even Sakuya can fly! Well, I guess Alice doesn't technically count since she's a youkai, but still!_" thought Marisa to herself as she and Sakuya flew past the gates of the Scarlet Devil Mansion and over the lake. They flew over half of Misty Lake without a word spoken between them. As she and Sakuya flew on, Marisa's thoughts morphed from general frustration into nervous contemplations.

"_I can't let anyone find out about this. I've gotta find a way to hide it. Oh, what am I gonna do? I don't know if I can live with myself if Reimu sees me like this. I don't know if Reimu could live with it, either. Ugh… she's gonna go berserk if she finds out. And she'd probably do more than just beat me up like any other youkai. I bet she'd try to 'exterminate' me if we ran into each other. How am I not gonna run into her, though? Her shrine is right on the way to Eientei…_" Marisa began to invent scenarios in her head of all the different ways Reimu could react, and her flying faltered a little.

"Is something the matter?" asked Sakuya.

"_Everything's _the matter!" snapped Marisa automatically, regaining control of her broom. They continued on in silence, until a snowball flew out of nowhere, hitting Marisa square in the eyes.

"See that, Dai-chan? Check out how good my aim is! Only to be expected of The Strongest!"

"Wow, that was a really good shot, Cirno!"

Two small fairies were sitting under a tree near the lake's edge. One of them, a fairy with icy-blue hair and a dress to match, materialized a snowball in the palm of her hand. Her icicle wings glinted in the daylight as she repeatedly threw her snowball up in the air and down again, smirking. The other one, a fairy with green hair and wings like a butterfly, politely listened to her friend babble on about how strong she was.

"Why you little**—**" began Marisa, wiping the snowball from her face.

"Just ignore them." said Sakuya, cutting in. "They're not worth our time." A snowball hit her in the face, changing her mind. "Allow me." She handed the parasol to Marisa and landed by the two fairies. "Cirno, Daiyousei. Be good fairies and leave us alone."

"Is that a challenge?" asked Cirno, excited.

"No; it's an order. We are in a hurry. Now is neither the time nor place for silly games." stated Sakuya calmly but firmly.

"Cirno, maybe we _should_ leave them alone." recommended Daiyousei timidly. "There are always more targets for your snowballs."

"No way! The Strongest doesn't run from a fight!" insisted Cirno, oblivious to her friend's suggestion. Sakuya leaned over to Daiyousei and whispered a few words. Daiyousei quickly grabbed Cirno by the arm and ran.

"Eeek! We're so sorry, scary maid lady!" the little fairy squealed.

"Hey, lemme go! I wanna fight 'em! Come on, Dai-chan!" complained Cirno as Daiyousei dragged her deep into the forest. Sakuya sighed.

"Fairies can be awfully stubborn, can't they?" she said, flying back up to Marisa, who was floating on her broom over the lake's edge.

"Yeah." agreed Marisa. "Especially Cirno. What did you tell Daiyousei, anyway?"

"That tonight's main course would be Cirno soup. Shall we be off?" asked Sakuya, taking back the parasol. Marisa nodded, and they began to fly over the forest. "_Marisa's attitude appears to have cooled down a bit._" she thought to herself, relieved. "_That's good. Not much is scarier than an angry vampire, and a new one at that. If we keep going at this pace, I don't think I'll have to use Miss Remilia's special instructions…_" Marisa, however, was not feeling as well as Sakuya thought she was.

"_I've gotta make sure I don't run into anyone!" thought Marisa, her eyes darting around her surroundings with paranoia. "Wait, why is it so quiet? The forest is never this quiet. Maybe all the fairies are gathered on the other side of the forest… or maybe they're all watching me! …Oh, who am I kidding? They're just fairies. Who cares about what they're doing? Not me! Not at all! Hahaha…_"

* * *

><p><strong>(Author's notes: And so the journey begins! This sure took a long time, as usual. JanuaryFebruary is music season, and I've been extremely busy [I'm a competitive clarinet player]. Also, my computer broke. It's fixed now, though. Only took a month. -_- I hope the ending for this chapter doesn't seem too abrupt. It was supposed to be far longer, but I'm having trouble writing what would have been the chapter's end. I figured I'd post what I've got done now, and add the rest to the next chapter. It'll probably make more sense that way in the long run, anyway.)**


	9. Chapter 8: 1:51 PM

Chapter Eight

1:51 P.M.

The flight through the forest was oddly serene. Aside from the odd fairy, no youkai had shown up. The stillness only fed Marisa's anxiety as she continued to scan the area in trepidation for any passersby. As the trees began to thin out, she became aware of a dull but intensifying pain spreading through her body. Before long, her paranoia shifted gears.

"_The pendant! Is it wearing off!? It can't, not yet! We're nowhere near Eientei!_" thought Marisa. She realized without the pendant's powers, flying would be impossible. "I think the pendant's starting to wear off!" she fretfully announced.

"Oh, dear… we need to find a place to land as soon as possible." said Sakuya. She looked around, and then pointed to a clearing amongst the trees. "Look, we can land over there." Marisa looked at the clearing and hesitated.

"I-I think we can find a better clearing if we keep going…" she muttered.

"Why? Is there something wrong with it?"

"It's just… It's just…"

"Yes?" asked Sakuya.

"…fine…" Marisa sighed.

"Are you sure?"

"It's fine." Marisa said firmly. She hopped off her broom, and Sakuya landed next to her. They began trekking through the foliage. While she wasn't paying attention to the ground, Marisa's foot caught on a root. Her wings —which had grown larger and heavier— hindered her from regaining balance as she fell to the ground. Her legs quavered as she got up. Sakuya extended her arm.

"Would you like some help?"

"Thanks," said Marisa, grabbing hold of Sakuya's arm. She took a few wobbly steps before almost falling over again. This time, Sakuya caught her before she could fall. A few paces later, the same thing happened.

"Hold on." said Sakuya.

"But we have to keep going!" huffed Marisa.

"Miss Kirisame, you are getting weaker by the minute. Don't push yourself."

"Well, we can't just stop in the middle of the road!" she said, pointing a finger to the left. Indeed, there was a dirt road just a stone's throw away from where they were arguing. "_C'mon, this shouldn't be such a big deal. It's not like I have to go there. As soon as we pass it, it'll be gone, and that's that…_" Marisa reassured herself. Sakuya looked across the road. She saw a little shop, and got an idea. With the parasol in one hand, Sakuya used her other arm to hoist Marisa up over her shoulder and started to carry her down the road. "Wha-? Where are you taking me?"

"I have an idea. I know someone who lives on this road, a shopkeeper. It's a little risky, but I think he'll help us." Marisa froze. There was only one person she knew of who fit that description. This was what she had been dreading.

"No!"

"Don't be stubborn. You need help whether you like it or not. Just look at yourself right now!"

"That's exactly it!" said Marisa. "I don't want him to see me!"

"Miss Kirisame, I'm afraid you don't have a choice. Soon you will be in absolutely no condition to keep going. My mistress told me your wings will continue to grow for hours. Now that your pendant has worn off, we need to find a place to hide. I'm sorry, but the more time we spend out in the open, the more likely it becomes that someone hostile will spot us. Now, come on."

"No! Put me down! Don't take me to Rinnosuke!" Marisa hollered. She struggled to break free, pounding Sakuya's back and thrashing her legs. For all her efforts, Marisa's flailing had little effect on Sakuya.

"Oh, you know him already?" asked Sakuya. As she drew closer to the store, Marisa became more frantic.

"Let me go! He's gonna see me! Let me go!_ Let me go!_"

"_What the…?_" Rinnosuke, the storeowner, had heard Marisa's yelling and stepped outside to see what was going on. Nearby, Sakuya was carrying Marisa in his direction, who was throwing a frenzied fit. "_Something seems very wrong here… Should I get involved or not…?_" he wondered. "_Getting involved in one of her little shenanigans is asking for trouble… but something's not right. Since when did Marisa have wings? That's definitely her, though…_" Rinnosuke made his decision. "Sakuya," he shouted, "just what are you doing to _my niece_!?"

"_Niece?_" thought Sakuya. "_They're related!?_" Sakuya's bewilderment combined with a well-timed elbow to Sakuya's head was all Marisa needed to escape Sakuya's grasp. Marisa tumbled down Sakuya's back and landed barely within the parasol's circle.

"Marisa? Are you okay?" asked Rinnosuke, approaching her.

"Don't look at me!" shrieked Marisa, using Sakuya as a visual barrier. With a shaky hand, she grasped the hakkero inside her apron. "Or I'll—"

"Alright, I won't look." said Rinnosuke. "But please, at least tell me what's going on." Marisa gave him no response.

"I can help explain, Mr. Morichika." offered Sakuya.

"Sakuya, do you have something to do with this? Did Remilia do this to her?"

"Indirectly, I suppose. It's a long story."

"Then, start talking." said Rinnosuke. Marisa couldn't take it anymore. She started crying. "Whoa, calm down!" he exclaimed. "It'll be alright."

"It's… not... my fault…" she wailed in-between sobs. Rinnosuke was skeptical of that, but said nothing. "I just… what happened was… I… I…" Marisa buried her face into her apron, bawling. After an awkward silence filled with her wailing, Rinnosuke spoke up.

"Oh, never mind what happened. Marisa, don't cry; come here." He knelt down and held out his arms. Marisa coiled into a ball.

"I said… I don't want you… to see me…"

"Marisa, right now I don't care about what happened, or what you look like. I'm not going anywhere until you stop crying." Tentatively, Marisa peeked out from behind Sakuya, and Rinnosuke got his first look at Marisa's face. Her irises had become a peculiar, ruddy color—far from the golden-brown they were before, but not entirely red, either. Tears flowed freely down her cheeks. The thing that struck Rinnosuke the most about Marisa, however, was her expression. The fearful and desolate look in her eyes was like that of an animal caught in a trap. Marisa slowly crawled out from her hiding place and embraced him. She sobbed into his shoulder, shaking uncontrollably.

"What… am I… gonna… do!?" she gasped.

"The most important thing you can do is calm down." said the shopkeeper. "Why don't you take it easy and lay down inside for a while?" he suggested.

"O-okay." said Marisa. Rinnosuke tried to stand up, but Marisa clung to him. Sighing, he picked her up.

"Funny, you seem a lot lighter than I remember." he said, carrying her to the shop. The little shop was mostly empty, save for one customer; a little crested swallow youkai was on the floor, contently reading a book. Sakuya held the door to the shop open. The little youkai timidly peeked up from the book as Rinnosuke carried Marisa inside. He carried her past the counter to the very back, where furniture from the outside world was set up in a living arrangement. Rinnosuke laid Marisa down on a sofa. "Sakuya, do you see those blankets near the register?"

"These?"

"Yeah. Hand one to me, would you?" Sakuya did as instructed. Rinnosuke laid the blanket over Marisa and sat down next to her. Her eyes were closed, and her breathing was labored. "This can't be good." he said in frustration. "There has to be something we can do!"

"I'm afraid not, Mr. Morichika."

"Sakuya," he said desperately, "you _need_ to tell me what's going on."

"Well, I suppose it all began in the Voile library…"

* * *

><p><strong>(Author's Notes: This chapter was really hard to write. <strong> My first draft was so poorly written I couldn't stand it. Marisa waltzed into Kourindou without much prodding, and Rinnosuke didn't care what was going on. <strong>I had to start from scratch four times before I got a draft I liked. Well, anyway, I feel happy that I finally finished this mountain of a chapter! Sorry if I went overboard on the ellipses.****  
><strong>

****Anyway...****

**********Thank you for reading, and have a happy Easter/Spring Break!********)******


	10. Chapter 9: 10:51 PM

Chapter Nine

10:51 P.M.

_Marisa had finally reached the elusive Eientei. She knocked on the door frame__. No response. She kept knocking,__ and eventually Eirin came out, looking as t__ired and cranky as ever__._

"_Oh, what now__?"_

"_You've gotta help me! I-"_

"_Sorry, but we're closed tonight. Come back tomorrow morning.__"_

"_What!? But-"_

"Goodnight_.__" Eirin said with a grunt. Before Marisa could __say another word, a __torrent __of rabbits __emerged from inside the palace, sweeping her off the premises and deep into the forest. __Dejected__, __Marisa drifted aimlessly through the endless bamboo. She didn't get very far before..._

"_I've got you now, youkai__!"_

_Suddenly, Marisa__ was being chased by Reimu. __Marisa instinctively shot up into the air. She tried to escape, but Reimu fired several barrages of paper charms too fast to be evaded. __They battered Marisa, and for some reason, clung to her after hitting. Wave after wave came, and soon, she was entirely cocooned. The weight of the many layers of paper put too much strain on her broom, and it snapped in half. Marisa __plummeted __through the air, the ground coming ever closer.__.._

_The paper scattered, and now __she was in a cage, tied up with rope and being displayed in the middle of the human village. The villagers pointed and stared, __whispering __to one another. Marisa couldn't tell what they were saying, but it definitely wasn't good. Something hit her arm. The villagers were throwing rocks at her__!__ Then they started shouting._

"_Kill her!"_

"_Kill the monster!"_

_"She's nothing but a traitor!"_

"_Traitor! Traitor!"_

"_Kill the traitor!_

_Among the most vocal of them was her own father._

"_It's an abomination!" he __roared__. "Slay it with no mercy!"_

"_Calm down, people." said Reimu, __positioning herself between Marisa and the crowd__. The mob came to a halt, and __Reimu__ locked eyes with Marisa. __Surprisingly, __Reimu's face showed no trace of malice; rather, there was a dullness in her eyes that was startlingly apathetic. Apparently, exterminating Marisa was no different than any other routine youkai extermination. Reimu turned away, and addressed the crowd once more.__ "__I have __a solution. __Watch!__" The ground disappeared from underneath Marisa. The last thing she saw before the darkness completely enveloped her was her father's face, filled with scorn. Reimu's __distant __voice echoed down from above__.__ "Goodbye, Marisa. You were a good friend…"_

_Before she knew what was happening, Marisa found herself running for her life in an endless corridor, with Flandre in __fast pursuit__.__ The corridor gradually widened, becoming a featureless plane. This time, there were no doors or windows to offer escape. _

"_Play with me, Marisa!" squealed Flandre. She let out a series of flame-bullets, followed by a deranged laugh. "You're so much fuuuuuuuun!"__A large red laser soon joined in the 'fun', attempting to slice Marisa in half. __Flandre swept it to the right, then to the left. Embers rained down on Marisa as s__he __frantically dodged from side to side. __Flandre __twirled __the laser __above her head. "Why are you running away? This is the best part!" _

_The flames shooting by Marisa dispersed, and brightly glowing orbs took their place. The orbs flowed in unnatural, geometric lines that seemed intent on caging her inside. Each orb glowed in psychedelic colors, cycling through the color spectrum before settling on harlequin green. Soon, Marisa was walled in. S__atisfied with __the orbs' arrangement, __Flandre __released__ a__ shockwave. It resonated through the cage-like structure,__ and__ the orbs caved in around Marisa__. __She scrambled to find a spot that hadn't filled in, but it was too late. She was going to be caught in the collapse. Then, improbably, __a bell chimed._

"_Over already? Awww…"_

_The __orbs __disappeared at once. A pair of teacups sitting on a little tray appeared. Flandre flew over to them and started drinking out of one. Marisa took the opportunity to crawl away._

"_Oh? What's the matter?" asked Flandre, aware her new 'friend' wasn't following suit. "__I__t's __tea__time! You know what that means__,__ don't you?" An invisible force dragged Marisa over. She struggled against the invisible force, but none of her limbs could break free. "Have you never drunk tea before? __W__ell, I'll just have to show you how!" Marisa stared at the teacup in __horror __as Flandre held __it __up to her lips. She firmly pursed her lips shut. Flandre responded in kind by pinching Marisa's nose shut. _

"_Come on, open up!" Flandre said, giggling. "You can't hold out forever!" Marisa's lungs screamed for air. Flandre was ri__ght; she couldn't hold out much longer, and her__ mouth opened__ soon enough__. Flandre poured the liquid inside. __Marisa automatically coughed out the incoming blood__._

_"_No! I'm not a traitor!_"_

_Flandre forcefully clamped her jaw shut, and Marisa swallowed by reflex._

"_See, that's how you do it!" Flandre __enthusiastically __proclaimed. "Now, that wasn't so bad, was it?" _

_Marisa found herself agreeing. Flandre was right. It wasn't nearly as bad an experience as she thought it would be. And it tasted… interesting, to say the least. __Now Marisa's curiosity began to outweigh her fears. Flandre slipped another sip into Marisa's mouth. She didn't resist this time. She swallowed it whole. Then, she __took the cup out of Flandre's hand and took a sip out of it herself. Not bad at all. __She __steadily __drained the liquid __from the cup. With each drop, her anxiety melted away…_

_The teacup began resisting. Marisa pulled the cup toward her, only for the cup to stubbornly snap back into place. The tug-of-war persisted, until finally, Marisa lost her grip on the cup. Instead of falling, the cup made a beeline for Marisa's head, and..._

_CRACK!_

"Ze!" Marisa exclaimed. Something had hit her head and startled her awake. "_What's going on?_ _Did I just…!? No, no, no… Aaaaaaah…_"

At that moment, Rinnosuke walked into the vicinity, carrying a gas lamp.

"Is everyone okay?" he asked. "I heard a noise and—! Are you alright!?"

Marisa was still dazed, and a few seconds passed before she registered anything beyond a heavy metallic scent in the air. Lifting herself into a kneeling position, she almost knocked over a pile of unsorted goods. As she steadied herself, she saw several blankets, some bloodied, strewn across the ground. Rinnosuke stood stunned in the doorway, but Sakuya was already in motion. She quickly procured a rather large thermos. Marisa noticed a trail of red trailing down Sakuya's arm, and traced it back to a deep red splotch above her collarbone.

"Di-did I do that?" Marisa asked incredulously, pointing at the wound. As she asked, a droplet of blood dripped off her chin onto her arm, removing any doubt that Sakuya's injuries were indeed her own doing.

"Yes." replied Sakuya. "Oh, but please don't worry. This certainly isn't the first time I've ever been bitten." she added, perhaps a bit too quickly, because her attempt at assuaging Marisa's anxiety only made it worse. Marisa glanced down shamefully, and caught sight of her arms. They were a sickly grey hue. She wanted to cry, but her tears would not come.

"_What have I just done? Have I... become a monster?_" Another glance at her gray hands confirmed that thought. What in the world had she done now? She'd gotten herself into minor trouble before, but nothing like this. She had a feeling that this time, getting herself back to normal would push the limits of what magic was really capable of. "_But Eirin can help me. I've just gotta believe that._" And for all her revulsion, that unusually lucid nightmare had planted a tiny seed of curiosity inside Marisa. To her disgust and horror, a growing part of her wanted more of the delectable blood from her dream—and it was getting hard to ignore.

"We might as well get this over with. Drink this, please." Sakuya presented her with the thermos. "The mistress instructed me to give you this if we couldn't cure you in a timely fashion. She told me if you got thirsty, it would be better to just give you some blood than to put you in a position where you could harm someone."

"_If this is what I've gotta do for now,_" Marisa reasoned, "_I might as well. It's not gonna hurt me to enjoy it for a bit..._"

Marisa took the thermos. She indulged in its contents, and once finished, set it down. The transformation was complete.

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><p><strong>(Author's Notes: I'd like to take this moment to sincerely apologize to everyone reading this.<strong>** It was irresponsible of me to disappear from the site for over a year, and no amount of excuses will make up for it. ****I want you all to know that I am extremely grateful for your readership! ****I won't make any promises I don't think I can keep. However, I fully intend to finish this story.**

**On a less related note, I've also re-edited the earlier chapters for style. Nothing plot-significant has changed, except Remi's directions to Eientei make geographic sense now.**

**Thank you so much for reading my story, and I hope to return the favor!)**


	11. Chapter 10: 11:00 PM

Chapter Ten

11:00 P.M.

It was an ordinary, chrome-finished thermos. Other than the oddity of a factory-made thermos having found its way into Gensokyo, there was absolutely nothing remarkable about it. Yet, Marisa couldn't take her eyes away from the empty thermos in front of her. Something about it seemed a little off, and it was making her uncomfortable. _Why?_

Aware of the shuffle of feet around her, Marisa looked around. Rinnosuke's gas lamp illuminated the clutter around her, twisting the piles' shapes into eerie shadows on the wall. Her eyes drifted to various pillows and blankets, and she finally found the source of the shuffling: Rinnosuke, who, unsure of what to do, had gathered them and was attempting to organize them. His attempts were halfhearted, as his attention lied elsewhere. Any of these things should have held her interest more than a thermos, but once again, her eyes laid to rest on the unremarkable container.

Marisa inspected the thermos from every angle, fumbling it unsteadily in her newly-clawed hands. What could possibly be drawing her to it? Her hands quivered too much to keep the thermos steady as she turned it around. Dissatisfied with her wobbly inspection, she gazed around the room again. Her eyes followed the splatters of blood on the floor leading up to Sakuya, and she laid her eyes on the maid. Marisa couldn't help but notice the pain in her movement, the sort of grimace that she thought would only come out once no one was watching. Marisa stared for a while. If Sakuya noticed the staring, she gave no indication, remaining silent as she continued treating her wound. The makeshift bandage she used to wrap her wound was crude, but it would do its job until they arrived at their destination. Marisa caught herself licking her lips, and promptly froze.

"_What am I doing?!_" thought Marisa wildly. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, but it did nothing to make her newfound desires go away. She wanted to believe those feelings she experienced only moments ago weren't really hers. She told herself they weren't, they couldn't have been, but deep inside, she knew the truth. And she couldn't just sit there and let them fester. "_Well, I've gotta do _something." Twelve hours earlier, she would have never dreamed of such a scenario. The entire situation felt so unreal. Her tongue brushed the tip of a fang, and she became self-aware of the strange fullness in her mouth. The canines manifested as one of her earliest symptoms, but only now was she receptive enough to feel the change internally. It seemed everything about her was sharp and vicious, yet another reminder of her new reality. Finally, her newfound visceral side won the battle. Marisa picked up the thermos again and tilted her head back, evaluating if it was really empty. "_I really shouldn't be doing this..._" she warned herself halfheartedly, as no voice of reason could deter her from her course of action. She waited, and a small trickle dribbled into her mouth. Eyes closed, she rolled the drop of blood around, letting the flavor spread. Any shame she felt moments ago melted away. "_Well, it's no use feeling bad about it, I guess. What's done is done, after all…"_

A gust of wind shook the house, causing Marisa to open her eyes. The lamp's light flickered, and in the brief moment of darkness, she saw it. Marisa muffled a shriek and smacked the thermos to the ground. Two red, disembodied orbs were staring back at her; her tormentors were her very own inhuman eyes.

In her moment of horror-struck clarity, Marisa knew she needed to take action, and fast. For now, the only reasonable thing to do was to get as far away from Sakuya, that temptation, as possible—at least until her urge for blood died down. If it ever did.

"It's time for us to go. Thank you for allowing us to stay for such a long time." said Sakuya as she finished wrapping up her makeshift bandages.

"Sakuya, you aren't seriously intending to travel with those wounds, are you?" Rinnosuke asked. "Are you sure you don't want to stay longer?"

"We cannot delay this any longer." For a few fleeting moments, emotions danced across Rinnosuke's face - surprise, protest, reluctance. Finally, he shook his head and sighed.

"Well, I guess it's a good thing you're heading to Eientei, then." he said. "Best of luck."

"Thank you. Time to go, Mari—" Sakuya paused, scanning the little shop. Marisa was nowhere to be seen. Small creases formed upon Sakuya's brow as she saw the handle of a broom heading out the door. "_Where does she think she's going?_" Thunder rumbled from across the lake. A storm was coming.

* * *

><p>Remilia covered her mouth and yawned loudly. She and Patchouli had taken turns watching Flandre ever since the incident that afternoon. Now that it was her turn again, Remilia had little to do other than watch Patchouli's conjured storm brewing outside. Her eyes lazily trailed the streaks of water rolling down the window's glass. The storm served as a temporary buffer in case Flandre got out of hand, much like sunlight normally would during the daytime. Even the smallest of measures she could take to try and regain control of the situation could prove invaluable in the long run. As Remilia was fond of quoting, 'An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.' Speaking of cures...<p>

"You may arrive any moment now, you two…" she whined to no one in particular. "Really now, what could be taking them so long? Evening, I could understand, but nightfall… I wonder if I should send someone to investigate. Although, the only staff I could afford to spare at the moment is Meiling… Come to think of it, she should still be out there. I ought to send her in..." she mused, tracing the cover of the book she had brought to read, but finished an hour ago. Something flickered out of the corner of her eye. Remilia whipped around, only to find… everything was as it had been all evening. Not a speck of dust was out of place. "Augh! And now my eyes are playing tricks on me." Remilia yawned again, then looked again at the immobile form of her little sister. Flandre had barely moved an inch since she had been brought to the table that afternoon, her wings glowing the same dull glow since the moment she arrived. "Oh, Flan, how you worry me, too…" Electricity spells weren't Remilia's area of expertise, but she could tell the emergency electrification spell she had used on Flandre in the tower was one of Patchouli's more… _potent _spells. It was designed to put down a target reliably, with little regard for the welfare of said target afterward. Still, Flandre had at least earned her fate. More worrying was the fate of Flandre's newest unwilling victim.

"Though, it could be worse. You could have botched the process and simply killed her. Or worse, turned her into a ghoul. All things considered, I suppose this was the best possible outcome. For once this incident catches Yukari's eye..." Remilia's face slowly curled into an unladylike scowl, as she was reminded of the little chat with Yukari that was inevitably coming. Technically, this could be construed as a breech in the contract established between the two of them when the Scarlets had moved to Gensokyo. The act of providing food for the mansion was certainly an inconvenience to Yukari. Whether she would seize the opportunity to throw them out or not was hard to say. Yukari was difficult to figure out. However, even if she didn't plan to cast them away, Yukari would have no small pleasure in watching Remilia jump through hoops to defend herself.

"That damn gap hag… are we all just playthings to her, I wonder?" she grumbled, answering her own question. The residents of the Scarlet Devil Mansion most likely provided enough entertainment for Yukari to allow them evade punishment once more. Still, Remilia needed to prepare her position, and every bit of leverage would count.

Remilia pouted toward the window, hoping the incident would resolve itself by morning, and the events of this afternoon could be swept under the rug of time. Unfortunately, she knew that by their very nature, the events of today would have very permanent ramifications for everyone involved.

"_Eirin, I hope you know what you're doing. For all our sakes._"

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><p><strong>AN: Well, that took long enough! Truth is, I've been sitting on this manuscript for a while, but couldn't work up the guts to publish it. Anyone have tips for getting over that? At this rate Eastern Starlight Romance is going to be finished before this is…<strong>

**But I digress. Thank you for reading! My readers mean a lot to me, and I want you guys to know it! Please, if you find any errors, don't be afraid to point them out.**

**P.S. Happy Halloween!**


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